LAKE CHARLES, La. ? Three unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning ended Sam Houston State's run in the 2009 Southland Conference post-season softball tournament as McNeese State edged the Bearkats 3-2 Saturday afternoon at Cowgirl Diamond.

The No. 2 seed and tournament host, McNeese State (31-27) advanced to the tournament finals to be played at 1:30 Saturday afternoon. SLC regular season champion and tournament No. 1 seed Texas State-San Marcos will be the Cowgirls' opponent.

Sam Houston built a 2-0 lead with two runs in the top of the second inning. Third baseman Sarah Parich led off the inning with a double to center field. With two out, Hailey Wiginton blasted another double to score Parich, then scored herself on a single by Amy Brown.

McNeese State answered in the bottom of the third as Katie Shumaker and Liz Morvant led off with back-to-back singles. A Sam Houston State error on a ball hit by Claire Terracina allowed Shumaker to score and Morvant scored one batter later as Lindsey Langner reached on a fielder's choice to tie the game 2-2. Terracina scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

Cowgirl pitcher Bethany Stefinsky (20-15) earned the victory for McNeese State, striking out nine Bearkats to set a Cowgirl record for strike outs in a season with 293.

Pitching her third game in a row, Morgan Mikulin (13-10) took the loss in the pitching circle for Sam Houston. Mikulin gave up just three hits while striking out four Cowgirls.

“It was a tough loss for us today, but a great effort by the girls here at the tournament,” SHSU head coach Bob Brock said. “The girls battled from the first pitch to the last and I'm very proud of the way they played.”

Sam Houston lost to No. 3 seed Texas-San Antonio 5-4 in the first round, then defeated No. 4 seed Stephen F. Austin 2-1 in the second and knocked UTSA out of the tournament in the quarterfinals 4-1 Friday night.